


Fic Snippet: Introductions

by ffoulkes_no



Category: Captain America (Movies), Invaders (Marvel), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fic Snippets, Gen, putting toro where he should be, short-fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-02
Updated: 2015-11-02
Packaged: 2018-04-29 13:56:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5130152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ffoulkes_no/pseuds/ffoulkes_no
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Working Toro into the MCU, one punch at a time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fic Snippet: Introductions

**Author's Note:**

> A little bit from a fic that may still be written, but with major revisions.
> 
> I like this scene as is, so it's getting posted separately.

Steve stared. He’d been staring for what seemed like an eternity. He didn't care. Really, at that moment, he didn't care about much of anything, save for that the boy in front of him— man, he noted, finally, since the tall, broad person standing there was hardly the small, lanky thing he remembered barely surfacing in a loaned field jacket —had somehow ignored the march of time. He'd clearly aged from when Steve had seen him last, grown and matured into solid-looking adult, far more confident and self-assured than he remembered, but he couldn't have touched 50 with a ladder. For all of 70 years, Toro had barely aged more than two decades.

From somewhere beside him, the Iron Man armor's servos whirred, and Steve forced himself to turn away and meet Tony's gaze. Even through the faceplate, the confusion and concern was evident. Steve wanted to nod, to square his shoulders and put on a confident air, to let everyone else know it was fine. But it wasn’t. And it wasn’t going to get any better.

“So,” Toro said, and the deepness of his voice startled Steve, “you’re the new guy.”

“'New guy?' I don’t—“

Toro closed the distance between them quickly, and rammed a finger into Steve’s chest to silence him. “They think they can replace him. Think they just stick someone else in the costume, teach ‘em what to say an’ how to act, send ‘em out for the cameras and no one bats an eye.” His voice was hard, and the metal trowel he’d been cleaning had gone from a tool’s hold to a dagger’s, “I knew him, you know. Not well, and not for very long, but I knew him, and you don’t replace someone like that. You _can’t_."

Steve was momentarily at a loss for words. Unfortunately, Tony took the opportunity to try and ease the tension.

“Woah, woah, woah, _simmer down_ , kid,” and he strode confidently between Steve and Toro, arms up, loose and comfortable. “First off, this is the genuine article. All 100% grade-A Cap. A little freezer-burned, but I guarantee it’s all there. Secondly, you’re a little young to be talking about knowing Old Glory in his glory days.”

Steve saw the punch coming, but he thought— stupidly, he admitted in hindsight —that Toro’s fist would hit the armor like the solid metal it was. That Tony would end up apologizing for the man’s broken hand. That the shock of the pain would take the steam out of Toro and let Steve talk some sense into him. He completely didn’t expect the force from Toro’s punch to send Iron Man flipping backwards onto his back in the muddy sand, or for Toro to jump onto his fallen target, the trowel, now glowing white-hot, aiming for Iron Man’s faceplate.

Really, after all he’d seen, he should have known better.


End file.
